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Chapter 5

Auteur: Cece West
When Mom found out, she brought him home to recover.

That night, he sat at our table with his hand stiff around his fork.

He didn’t even dare ask for more food.

Mom pushed the entire platter of roast chicken in front of him.

“You don’t have to be polite here, Jake.”

After that, there was always an extra place set at our table.

Mom bought him a winter coat.

Helped him apply for scholarships.

When the awakening of his Alpha bloodline left him burning with fever, she stayed beside him for two days and two nights.

The first time he called her Mom was after we discovered we were fated mates.

She was so happy she secretly wiped away tears.

Now, in her hospital bed, she looked at me with a tired smile.

“He used to say that once he was able, he’d make sure I never had to worry about anything again.”

I lowered my head and straightened the IV tubing over her hand.

“Try to sleep.”

She didn’t say any more.

Slowly, her eyes closed.

I stayed beside the bed, listening to the steady rhythm of the monitor, telling myself over and over that nothing else mattered.

They could say whatever they wanted about me.

As long as Mom was still here.

As long as I could still get her out.

Once Mom’s condition stabilized, I began looking into werewolf medical centers outside the territory.

I didn’t tell Jake.

I made every call from the stairwell.

I had every transfer document sent to a new email address.

A staff member at one center told me they could accept Mom, but they would need her complete medical records from the current clinic before arranging transport.

I printed the forms and left them beside her bed.

Mom saw them and asked whether I was taking her on a trip.

“Somewhere a little warmer.”

“You never did like the winters here, even as a little girl.”

I held her hand.

“This time, we can stay for a while.”

She smiled and nodded.

For a moment, I almost believed we really did still have a chance to start over.

A few days later, Mom told me to go home and get a night’s sleep.

“You’ve spent three days in that chair. Your neck’s practically crooked.”

I refused.

The nurses encouraged me, too. They would be watching her constantly and would call if anything happened.

In the end, I went back for clean clothes, planning to shower and return.

The phone rang just as I turned off the water.

The nurse sounded urgent.

Mom had developed a severe arrhythmia.

The doctors were trying to save her.

I needed to get there as quickly as possible.

I didn’t even dry my hair.

I grabbed my keys and rushed outside.

People were blocking the way.

More than a dozen young wolves stood at the gate. Some held up phones. Others wore badges from Emily’s charity events.

The moment I appeared, someone called my name.

“She’s out.”

I stopped.

The man in front turned his phone toward me.

My apology video played on the screen.

“Didn’t you already admit it? Why are you still having your friends make excuses for you?”

I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Move. I need to get to the clinic.”

“Explain yourself first.”

My phone vibrated again.

I glanced down.

A message from the nurse.

Critical condition.

I tried to go around him.

He stretched out an arm and blocked the exit.

“Emily’s had to cancel events because of you, and you’re just living your life.”

“My mother is dying.”

My voice rose sharply.

“She’s waiting for me. Move!”

The crowd fell quiet for a moment.

Then someone laughed.

“Here we go again.”

A girl stepped closer with her phone raised.

“Take a look, everyone. This is what she’s like in private. She was fine a second ago. Mention Emily, and she goes crazy.”

I called the police.

The man saw my screen and knocked my hand aside.

My phone hit the steps.

A long crack split the glass.

“Don’t try to scare us. We haven’t touched you.”

I lunged to pick it up.

He planted his foot on the ground beside it.

I looked up at him.

For the first time in my life, I genuinely wanted to tear someone’s throat out.

My wolf struggled to break free.

But days of exhaustion, barely eating, and the long strain of my mate’s betrayal had left me too weak to manage a full shift.

And there were more than a dozen of them.

I couldn’t waste the time I had left fighting.

I could only step back.

“What do you want?”

The girl raised her camera higher.

“A public apology. Stop pretending you’re the victim.”

“I already apologized.”

“Then do it again.”

I could hear my phone vibrating on the ground.
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  • The Alpha’s Rejected Luna: His Regret   Chapter 39

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  • The Alpha’s Rejected Luna: His Regret   Chapter 38

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  • The Alpha’s Rejected Luna: His Regret   Chapter 37

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  • The Alpha’s Rejected Luna: His Regret   Chapter 35

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